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M. P. APPLING.

AIR SHIP.

' No. 353,193. Patented Nov. 23, 1886.

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M. P. APPLING. AIR SHIP.

Patented Nov. 23,1886.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' MARBY r. APPLING, on CAMPBELL, TEXAS.

AlR-SHIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 353,193, dated November 23, 1886.

Application filed March 2, 1886. Serial No.193,7i22. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,MARBY P. APPLING, of Campbell, in the county of Hunt and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Ships; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to aerial navigation, and has for its object to provide a balloon or air-ship which, by virtue of itsimproved construction, shall be cheap to construct, easily operated by the assistance of manual or human exertion, simple in construction, and not liable to get out of order.

With these objects in view my invention consistsin theimproved construction,arrangement, and combination of parts, which Ishall now proceed to fully describe, the specific points of novelty in which I shall particularly point out in the appended claim.

In the drawings accompanying this specification, Figure l is a View in front elevation ofa balloon having my improvements attached, one of the sails being removed to avoid confusion of lines and expose fully the working mechanism. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure, the bag of the balloon and its sails being removed to expose the interior of the car or basket; and Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation, showing the cords for suspending the ballast-weight, the car, the rudder, one of the wings in a raised position, and the frame for supporting the wings above the car.

Likeletters of reference mark the same parts wherever they occur in the different figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings by letter, A is the body or gas-bag of the balloon, around which are secured or interwoven cords or netting a a, the former passing horizontally around the bag, and the latter vertically and over the top and down to and secured to the car B, whereby said car is suspended from the bag, and the bag strengthened against any strain having a tendency to burst it. Any suitable number of these cords may be used,having due regard to the objects in view. Secured to the bag, at

its sides, on horizontal bars 0, are sails O, suificient in number, from three up, according to the wishes of the operator. These sails hang in a substantially vertical line, and are controlled by suitable sheet-ropes operated by the occupant of the car. Suitable stand ards, B, are erected on the sides of the car, and are stiffened by backward and forward inclined braces b. At (Z, about midway of the height of these standards, are pivoted wings D, which are normally held in their upper positions by means of springs or elastic cords E, secured at b to the tops of the standards B.

At F, on the under side of the wings, are secured cords ff f. The portions f extend downward from the wing at F and around sheaves or pulleys g, secured under the floor of the car. From thence the portions f pass upward, through holes of the floor of the car, to and over sheaves or pulleys g, mounted in bars which connect and stiffen the uprights B, and thence the portions f extend downward under the center of the bag and over the center of the car, and together or separate are attached to and support a weight or weights, G G. Aspring or springs attached to the ends of the portions f of the ropes and to the car may sometimes be substituted with good re sults for the weights G G.

From each corner H of the car a cord or rope, It, extends downward,inclining centrally toward a ballast-weight, H, to which they are all connected, and which they serve to support centrally below the basket. This weight serves to keep the ear always in its correct position-that is to say, below the bag and balanced in its horizontal position. The weight may be made greater or smaller, according as it is desirable or necessary.

Proj ecting from the rear of the car, through a suitable slot or opening in the stern wall there of, is a rudder, I, which is pivoted at t, and has attached to its pivot a segmental rack, 1, whose teeth engage another segmental rack, J, pivoted to the car-floor at J, and havinga handle or lever, j, projecting forward, by means of which the rudder may be operated. Pivoted to the floor of the car, in front ofthis handle, is a pawl or stop-button, by which the rudderhandle may be held to either side, as the 00- casion may require.

In operating my air-ship I inflate the bag ICO just enough to overcome the weight of the car and attachment and the intended load, so that the whole device will remain substantially in any horizontal plane in which it may be,neither rising nor falling. The action of the air-currents or wind upon the sails will propel the Vessel, and the direction of such motion will be controlled at will by the rudder. WVhen it is desired to rise to a higher plane or descend to a lower one, the wings may be operated through the medium of the springs E, cords ff f, and weights G G, until the desired height is reached, when the journey in the horizontal plane may be resumed at pleasure.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

An air-ship consisting of a gas-bag having vertical'adjustable sails secured thereto, a car body and frame having side wings pivoted to inclined sides and adj ustably held to the top of car-frame by elastic cords, and to a central weight within said frame by cords secured to the wings and passing over pulleys below and above the car-body, and a pivoted rudder actuated bya segmental gear,substantiall y as shown and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I hereto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARBY I. APPLING;

XVitnesses:

V. H. HENDERSON, A. DUNBAR, 

